The University of California Regents and Governor Brown have been busy this summer making decisions that impact the accessibility, affordability, and quality of education in the UC. Governor Brown’s decisions have also put some of California’s most vulnerable populations as risk by cutting essential services. Read on for more information on these cuts and how they affect our members. And remember to plug into the conversation at your campus and online by liking our union on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/UAW.Local2865.UC.ASE.

1. The Regents voted to freeze tuition for the 2012-2013 academic year, but there’s a catch. The tuition freeze depends on California voters approving Proposition 30, the Governor’s tax initiative that increases income taxes on the rich and increases sales tax by ¼ percent. This decision puts students and workers in a double bind: the state budget will give UC a $125 million funding increase if the Regents don’t raise tuition, but the UC will lose the $125 million anyway if voters reject Prop 30. The Regents to stop playing games with the budget and prioritize tuition rollbacks, no matter what.

2. The Regents voted to increased “Professional Degree Supplemental Tuition” (PDST) for students in 57 programs ranging from law to nursing. Check here if your program is affected: http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/regmeet/jul12/f6.pdf. The Regents said these tuition hikes are acceptable because there are students willing to pay more—even though low-income students can’t afford the hike and many professional students aren’t eligible for grants to offset student debt. If you are one of the students who will be hurt by the PDST increases, we want to know! Get in touch with your campus union leadership: http://www.uaw2865.org/contact/.

3. The Regents voted to allocate $150 million towards building a hotel at UCLA even though there is no money for tuition rollbacks and even though the decision is unpopular amongst many students, workers, community members, and local business leaders.

4. Governor Brown eliminated protections in the budget for the funding and recruitment of students of color, funding for AIDS research at the UC, Master Plan enrollment targets, and protections against outsourcing support work to subcontractors– all at President Yudof’s request. He also reduced Cal Grant awards for the lowest income recipients at the UC.

5. Governor Brown slashed support for essential services by insisting that the legislature eliminate the Healthy Families program which insures 800,000 children in California, making deep cuts to Calworks programs that support out-of-work Californians, and making even deeper cuts to essential in-home supportive services for seniors and people living with disabilities.